There was some mixed news with the economy this week.

Oil spiked to a new record high Friday before closing above $140 per barrel for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid about 107 points Friday and is poised to post its worst June performance since the Great Depression.

However, a report from the U.S. Commerce Department says consumer spending rose sharply in May. The department says that's due in large part to the economic stimulus checks.

Some local businesses say they've seen a spike in business now that people have some a little extra cash.

"We had a really big surge one of the weekends [in May], which really put us over the top. And, it was actually one of the best months we've had in four years," says Greg Beaudin at Harrisonburg's Furniture & More. "It seemed like everyone got their check in one weekend because we had a ton of foot traffic in here."

Store managers say they saw business increase almost 15 percent last month. Almost all the stimulus checks are expected to be in the mail by mid-July.